A total of 141 Republican members of the House signed a letter to Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) Tuesday urging him to “bring a measure to the House floor that repeals sequestration for national defense.” The letter originated from the office of Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio), who said, “the sequestration of national defense is a senseless budget tactic that continues to threaten the readiness of our military and our national security,” according to a press release. The letter says sequestration “greatly diminishes our ability to defend our global position” and calls on Congress to “take immediate action to reverse this harmful trend.” US military leaders have called again and again for Congress to lift the spending caps imposed by the Budget Control Act of 2011, but Democrats have long refused to do so for defense spending without also increasing non-defense discretionary spending proportionally.
The Pentagon has concluded a new agreement to buy laser-guidance kits that turn rockets into drone-killing weapons. BAE Systems and the Defense Department announced a framework deal of up to seven years for 25,000 Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System guidance kits annually for the U.S. military.